Online Art at Night a hit

The annual public art show held in downtown New Glasgow may have taken a bit of a hit not being able to physically host the show that spans several blocks and many venues, but Art at Night organizers managed to put to together a virtual online show for people to browse and even buy from the safety of their home.

“The event seemed like
it was a huge success. Throughout the night we had approximately 16,000
clicks, in ways of posts, comments, or reactions. Of course, it’s
really hard to compare to our physical event because nothing keeps track
of these tangible numbers, but we are extremely happy with how things
went,” said Ian Grant, event co-ordinator.

Board members worked behind the scenes all night on Saturday to keep the online event flowing smoothly.

Organizers
received praise this year from online spectators for how far-reaching
the online platform made the event allowing those a bit further away to
take part.

“I definitely think there is a way we could incorporate
an online aspect to our event in the future, but I don’t feel anything
can replace the experience of being downtown with thousands of other
people, walking through all the displays, with music filling the air,”
said Grant. “Of course, the future right now is slightly unpredictable
in terms of crowd sizes, but we’ll take everything as it comes and see
where things go.”

Although everything went well for the event that
was organized quickly to comply with public health rules, Grant shared
that there were some downsides such as those who might not have access
to the internet or have a Facebook account.

“In the future, if we
do incorporate any online aspect, we could look into expanding our
platforms, but in the time we had to put this together, it definitely
was the most simple and most accessible medium of sharing the artwork.”

The
event proved to be a hit and a welcome distraction for those who have
been stuck inside for more than a month. It was also a helpful boost to
the local economy with artists being able to share and even sell some of
their work online in a time that many are not having the chance to take
in local art and culture.

“One piece that we thought was really
cool was being able to see the interactions in the comments under
pictures and videos. It’s not something we see during the physical
event, and it was really great to see that,” said Grant.